Bowfishing is a method of fishing that involves using a bow and arrow to strike fish and subsequently reel them back towards the archer. A bow that may be used in bowfishing typically has a reel mounted to the bow from which line is dispensed. The line is attached to the arrow, and upon firing the arrow the line from the reel is withdrawn. Once the arrow is fired, it may be subsequently retrieved by the archer through use of the reel. The archer can wind a handle on the reel to reel in the line and attached arrow. If the shot was a hit, the archer can hold onto the handle of the bow with one hand, and crank the reel with his or her other hand to fight the fish and draw the fish back to the archer.
The reel used in bowfishing in an at rest position before firing of the bow is generally locked. In this regard, the line cannot be removed from the bow. This configuration is advantageous because the archer when walking around or otherwise holding the bow without firing need not worry about having the line fall off of the reel. Once the archer desires to fire the reel, he or she will actuate a push button of the reel. This actuation unlocks the reel to allow the line to be freely dispensed from the reel. The archer will then, after pressing this button, nook and arrow and draw the string of the bow. The archer will take aim and fire the arrow. The arrow and attached string will fly through the air to either hit or miss their target as discussed. Turning of a handle on the reel will once again lock the line so that it can no longer be freely dispensed, and the line will be drawn back into the reel upon turning of the handle.
The archer may forget to actuate the push button of the reel before firing the arrow. This situation is problematic because if the archer fires the arrow without releasing the line the force of the arrow on the line may cause gears or other structure of the reel to be broken. The archer may thus damage their bow if they forget to press the push button. Further, the archer may be injured through the breaking of components or forces on the arrow if the line is not unlocked prior to shooting the bow.
Also, the act of pressing the push button and then drawing the bow is time consuming. The few seconds needed to perform this task may allow the archer's target to escape or otherwise move out of optimal range thus decreasing the archer's chance of successfully striking their target. Also, once the line is released upon pressing the push button, it may fall freely off of the reel before firing of the arrow. This could be problematic in that movement of the bow by the archer after hitting the push button, but before firing of the bow, may cause fallen line to get in the way of the shot or even wrap around something thus potentially injuring the archer upon firing the arrow that is attached to the line. As such, there remains room for variation and improvement within the art.
Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements of the invention.